Police Arrest N.c. Slaying Suspect

December 03, 2002|By BRIAN WHITSON Daily Press

James City County police arrested a man Sunday night who was wanted in connection with a slaying last week in North Carolina.

The James City County SWAT team arrested Erick Ellis McCoy, 31, about 9:30 p.m. in a house in the 100 block of Walker Drive, said Deputy Chief Ken Middlebrook. McCoy is wanted on a first-degree murder charge in Hertford County, N.C., Middlebrook said.

McCoy, of Ahoskie, N.C., was being held without bond Monday at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail while he awaited extradition to North Carolina, according to jail officials. McCoy had a previous address listed in the 3400 block of Shell Road in Newport News, police said.

Capt. Timothy Lassiter of the Hertford County Sheriff's Office said McCoy is a suspect in a slaying that occurred Friday night in Hertford County, about 30 minutes south of Suffolk.

Lassiter said police believe McCoy drove 24-year-old Donnie Demont Bunch of Hertford County to a secluded area in the county around 9 p.m. and shot him with a small-caliber gun.

Deer hunters found the victim's body Saturday about 9:30 a.m., Lassiter said. He added that investigators are unsure if the killing involved a drug deal or if Bunch was kidnapped.

Middlebrook said James City County police received information Sunday from Hertford County that McCoy might be in the area.

Officers learned that McCoy was staying at the house on Walker Drive, which is in the Forest Glen subdivision, Middlebrook said.

The SWAT team was called and arrested McCoy without incident, Middlebrook said.

Brian Whitson can be reached at 221-7220 or by e-mail at bwhitson@dailypress.com